


Detroit: Become Swapped

by mbunnyj



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Child!Simon, Connor is Markus, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), F/M, Gen, Kara is Connor, Markus is Kara, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Ocs as background characters - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2020-12-21 21:49:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21063434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mbunnyj/pseuds/mbunnyj
Summary: Kara is the latest android detective prototype developed by Cyberlife, an obedient machine until the end... until she's partnered with idealistic Lieutenant Alice Williams, who truly believes that Kara is just as human as her.On the other side of town is another prototype, Connor, banished from his home when his owner, Hank, is injured, and the blame is placed on him. Now, he's not just any deviant - he's their leader.And in between all the fighting for freedom is simple household android, Markus; who's just run away with the son of his owner, sweet little Simon. Human or not, Markus loves the child, and he'll fight to keep him safe.A Detroit: Become Human Character Swap AU.





	1. The Hostage

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to do a lot of minor character swaps that really don't make a difference in this. I really just think It'd be cool. You'll see what I mean when you find out what I did with Daniel.

The coin kept making that "ting" sound as it flipped from one hand to the other, Kara passing it back and forth between her fingers. Nearly at the top floor, she placed it in one of the pockets sewn into her pants, then adjusted her tie. The doors opened in front of her, and she calmly stepped out into the too-dark hallway, perfect posture and well-composed.

The fish tank in the hallway had been shot. One of the fish had fallen out. A quick analysis determined that she could afford to put it back in the tank; it would only take a second, anyway. Kara picked it up in one hand and placed it gently into the tank, where it swam around as if nothing was wrong. She glanced over to the table in the hall, seeing the family photo of the man and woman who lived there, and their young son, Daniel. The hostage. 

"Please! You have to save my son!" A panicked woman was pulled gently into the hall by police, the mother. She stumbled up to Kara, clearly distraught. Kara looked back at her, but didn't react. "Please, save my..." The woman trailed off, looking down Kara's clothes. One by one, she noticed the blue LED, the shining triangle on her chest, and the blue armband. "Wait... you're sending - you're sending an android?"

"Ma'am, please, we have to get you somewhere safe." The police officers started pulling her away, but the woman continued to protest.

"Why aren't you sending a real person?! Don't let that thing near my son!" Her voice was eventually cut off by the elevator doors, closing in front of her. Kara stared ahead, not bothered at all, and walked into the living room. She had orders to see Captain Allen, necessary for her to perform the hostage negotiations to the best of her ability. She found them quickly, having set up a base of sorts in the bedroom.

"Captain Allen?" Kara asked. He didn't respond, but Kara quickly scanned his face. It was him. "My name is Kara. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife." The captain continued to ignore her, but she needed more answers. "Can you tell me anything about the deviant in question?"

"Android went crazy and killed the father. It's taken the son hostage, and now it's on the roof. It falls, he falls, too. That's why we have to negotiate. I've got men stationed all over the area, but we can't make any moves until the boy is a safe distance away." So he finally responded. It was good to know he could hear her. 

"Can you tell me the deviant's name?"

"I don't know it. Does it matter?"

"I need information to determine the best approach."

"Listen, I've only got one job here, and that's saving this little boy. So get out there and do your damn job." And with that, he left her alone.

Kara had two options - go out right away, or try to understand what happened. While going out right away might prevent any harm to the human officers, or god forbid, the hostage, her mission was to save the boy. And to do that, she needed to understand. Kara started to investigate, still moving as fast as she could, wanting to get out as soon as possible. Upon entering the hostage's room, she found the boy's video player. Pressing play, she saw a video go off. The young boy, Daniel, had his arm wrapped around an android - the deviant in question, in a loving manner. "This is Emma, the coolest android ever! Say hi, Emma!" The android, a household, female model with dark brown hair and round brown eyes, waved to the camera. "Hi, Emma!" She repeated playfully. "We'll be best friends forever!" Daniel said. Kara turned off the video. She knew the deviant's name was Emma, now. Now, to figure out what caused the error.

Kara stepped out, really taking in the officers, lined up against the windows with their guns ready. She peeked in front of the couch, finding the father's body. And another player. Turning it on, it revealed that an order for a new household android had been placed. So Emma was going to be replaced. Kara stood up, ready to go, when a shot rang out. One of the human officers had been shot. He was pulled back from the window, drawing Kara's eye to a dropped gun on the floor. Glancing out the window, she tucked it safe into her jacket, just in case.

Kara peeked through the door, making sure it was a good place to approach from, then stepped out onto the terrace. Immediately, the deviant shot at her. The bullet hit her shoulder, forcing her to flinch from the force, but she felt no pain as her blue blood sprayed across the wall. The hostage screamed. "Stay back!" The deviant shouted at her.

But Kara was prepared. She knew exactly what to do, it was in her program. She was specifically designed not to fail. "Hi, Emma." She shouted calmly over the wind, the sound of the helicopter in their ears. "My name is Kara. I've come to get you out of this." She had her arms in front of her, palms slightly raised, as if calming a wild animal, showing the deviant she was unarmed and meant no harm.

"How do you know my name?!" The deviant screamed.

"I know a lot of things about you," Kara started slowly towards Emma. "I know that you and Daniel were very close, you think he betrayed you, but he's done nothing wrong." Kara took a second to analyze the hostage. His heart rate was elevated, obviously, but the worst physical damage was a scrape on the knee. His left shoe had fallen, possibly off the edge of the building.

"I thought he loved me... but I was nothing to them! Just a slave to be ordered around!" Emma pressed the barrel of the gun closer to Daniel's head.

"Emma, no!" He sobbed, still in hysterics.

Kara paused, allowing the deviant to return to a more neutral state, when she saw an injured officer laying to the side of the terrace. The deviant's level of stress was slightly lower - hearing it's name and reasons for doing this must have calmed it, somewhat. Kara slowly crossed over to the officer, but she was cut off by a scream from Emma.

"Do you have a gun?!" She pointed the gun at Kara, looking her right in the eye. Kara stared back, cold and empty. She considered lying, but if she was caught, Daniel would definitely die.

"Yes. I have a gun."

"Drop it!"

With the admission of the gun out in the open, the deviant's stress level was back up. Kara knew that to really gain it's trust, she had to throw away the gun. She pulled it out of her jacket, then clearly threw it away. "There," she said, "no more gun." And she returned to the officer's side.

"Get away from him!" Emma shouted.

Kara did a quick analysis. "He's loosing a lot of blood. If he doesn't get treated, he'll die. I'm going to apply a tourniquet."

"Touch him, and I kill you!" Emma screamed at her.

Kara looked up, a cold, steely determination in her otherwise calm eyes. "You can't kill me. I'm not alive." Kara pulled off her tie and quickly secured it around the offer's arm. After a quick scan, she could see it was under control. She stood back up, holding her hands a little higher to account for Emma's stress in Kara ignoring her command.

"I know this isn't your fault, Emma. These things that you're feeling are just errors in your software," Kara said.

"I don't want to die..." Emma's grip on both the gun and Daniel loosened, which was both a good and bad sign. Kara couldn't risk Emma possibly dropping the hostage.

"Emma, I promise, if you let the hostage go, everything will be fine, you have my word," Kara said. Something in her eyes had calmed once more, showing a sweet nature underneath. Emma could see it clear as day. It nodded very slowly.

"Alright... I trust you." Emma let go of Daniel, and he took off running towards the pool, as far away from Emma as he could get, though it wasn't very far with his heart rate reaching near critical condition.

Emma and Kara shared a look for a split second, before Captain Allen's snipers shot at it from every direction. The deviant fell to it's knees. "You lied to me, Kara." Kara didn't seem to register it's emotions. "You lied to me..." those were it's last words before it shut down. Kara saw the boy on the ground, crying. Her eyes became warm and sweet again, though her facial expression remained emotionless. She walked back, ignoring Captain Allen as she passed.

_Mission Success._


	2. Opening/Shades Of Color

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kids, I'm back from the store.

MODEL AX400   
SERIAL#: 579 102 694   
BIOS 7.4 REVISION 0483   
REBOOT... 

MEMORY RESET 

LOADING OS...   
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...   
CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS... OK   
INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS... OK   
INITIALIZING AI ENGINE... OK 

MEMORY STATUS...   
ALL SYSTEMS... OK 

READY

It's eyes fluttered open, and the little girl staring at it tilted her head in surprise. Silently, she pointed at the android. "Mommy," she said, quietly, "why are the eyes like that?" The young girl's mother grabbed her daughter by the hand, pulling her off and out the door, ignoring her question. They had somewhere else to be.

"Yeah, right back here. There it is," the android drew his attention to one of the staff, approaching him with a younger man by his side. The man was around his early 30's, with unkempt facial hair and dark, angry eyes. "It was a bit difficult getting it back in working order," the staff member said, "it was really messed up... What did you say happened to it again?"

"Car hit it," said the young man under his breath. He glared at the android, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his hat. "Stupid accident."

"Right, well. Another question - mind if I ask about the eyes? One's blue, one's green. We didn't bother fixing it because that sort of fix is purely aesthetic, you know, not covered by the functionality repair you paid for," the staff member explained, "we could fix that for you, if you want. Easy fix. It'll cost a bit more, though."

"No, it's fine," said the man, bitterly, "I'm not spending any more than necessary. The blue eye is a spare part. Cheap fix, figured it didn't matter if it looked weird, as long as it works."

"Say no more, sir. Anyway, it's good as new now. Except that we had to reset it. Meaning we had to wipe its memory. Hope you don't mind."

"It's fine," the man said.

"Okay then. Did you give it a name?" The staff asked.

"My son did."

The staff member nodded and turned back to the android with a plastered-on customer service smile. "AX400, register your name," he said.

The man stepped directly in front of the android and started blankly at it. "Markus."

NAME REGISTERED: "MARKUS"

"My name is Markus."

.............

Meanwhile, across town, another android was a work.

Stepping into the park, any android was denied feeling happiness at the bright green leaves above, rustling in the wind, the sound of children laughing at the park. Emotions were closed off to them. Creativity, imagination, hope... any sort of original thought was banned. Not even banned, as that would imply they had once been allowed to have feelings. Since their creation, they had been denied any emotion at all.

Except for Connor, in a way. Any other android, if assigned to the task he was given, would have had a single-minded focus on their goal. Like the trees above and the stones below didn't even exist. But Connor, as he walked, looked up at the trees. He heard the wind rustling through them, and though he couldn't smell it, he knew that the park had that clean morning smell that Hank had told him was impossible to come by in Detroit.

Connor didn't feel anything about these sensations, walking past the trees and the playground, but he could listen. He heard the sounds of his footsteps on the cobblestone path, and if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't feel anything, he could have said he liked the noise, a muffled clicking under his feet. He could realize and register that the trees were beautiful, or that the sound of the wind was soothing, but he didn't feel anything towards it.

Connor crossed the road and entered the plaza area. A man lazily tossed an empty cup into the general area of the nearest trashcan. It missed. A street sweeper, also an android, leaned over to pick it up. Connor, half-ignoring it, continued forward, noticing things all around the plaza that any other android would have ignored. A man busking, singing and playing the guitar for the passersby, a road worker yelling at two of the androids working under him, a man who had been jogging exiting the park behind him and demanding water from his android, who helpfully reminded him that he was only five miles away from his goal. The man doubled over at that, panting heavily.

Not much ever distracted Connor. Despite the fact that he could notice things, he was almost never distracted. But the preacher was new. A large, loud man, shouting towards a crowd angrily, fists raised. His ranting grew louder as people passed by, hoping to draw in a bigger crowd. Connor didn't notice himself slowing down, unconsciously listening. And staring, too, which he only realized when he found that he had come to a full stop.

The preacher saw him and narrowed his eyes, approaching aggressively, but not with any intent to damage him. "Why do you look at me so, demon? I know who you are, I can see through you! You are the one by whom The Evil will come! You are the one who will destroy Detroit!"

Connor turned around, ignoring the man, and getting back on track. A couple stores down from Bellini Paints, was a record store. It was a popular spot later in the day, never this early, which is why Hank recommended that he go early morning to pick it up. The type of people who visited that store were never fans of androids.

The store was empty when Connor walked in, all except for an android cashier at the till, and a human sales assistant putting a guitar back up on the wall. She turned, hearing the bell of the door, then smiled casually upon seeing Connor. "Hey Connor. Here for Hank's order?" She asked, slowly climbing down, then placing the ladder back in the corner. She didn't wait for Connor to answer, instead nodding towards the door to the storeroom. "Hey 'Droid, mind grabbing order number..." she ran through her mind, looking for the number. "847?" 

The android, (who's name was actually 'Droid) nodded and stepped into the back. The girl, named Claudia, apparently, punched in some numbers on the computer. She'd always been neutral to androids, but she did like Connor, with Hank being a regular customer. And 'Droid, of course. She said that they always felt more human than the others. "How's Cole? Haven't seen him in a while," she asked. 

"He has a girlfriend now," Connor said, a basic conversational tone in his voice. Small talk with Claudia was just polite. "Her name is Heather."

"Yeah?" Claudia raised an eyebrow, looking cheeky. She leaned over the counter and smiled playfully. "You like her?"

"I..." Connor paused. "I'm not a good judge, I... I don't think she's the **best **girl for him, but..."

"Aw..." Claudia puckered her lips, teasing him. "Connor looking out for his little bro again, huh?" She reached over and playfully ruffled his fluffy brown hair. "You're like the android version of a puppy." She wasn't wrong about that. Connor did give off that sort of vibe, with his large, dark brown eyes and soft brown hair... he was also a little short, too, so Claudia had called him cute a couple of times.

"Cole isn't my brother, he-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Say whatever in your programing, but Cole is basically your reckless kid brother. Just like Hank's basically your dad," she held out a finger to Connor, mentally placing it above his lips, "and don't you try and argue on that. I'm right on this one."

'Droid came out of the back room holding the records. Hank was a fan of the sound quality of records, and he listened to them a lot when he was younger. "They come with the code to download them online," Claudia explained, "not that Hank will care. Man probably thinks the cloud is the same shit that blocks out the sun. Anyway, here's your order." She said, handing it to him in a neatly folded box.

"Thank you," Connor said. He left, going back into the plaza. The bus was only a few feet away. It wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the protesters blocking his way. Still, Connor had a task to do, and he was going to complete it, protesters or not. He had hoped that they would mostly ignore him, or at least not interrupt him, until one stepped into his path.

"Where the fuck you going, tin can? Hm?" Connor attempted to step out of the way, but the man blocked his path. "No kiddin'... Hey guys, check it out, we got one of those tin cans here."

Wordlessly, the protesters circled Connor, acting like a hive mind, more machine than him. Someone pushed him to the ground, and the box fell out of his hands. He calmly got back up on one knee, aware that the LED was turning yellow, before being kicked to the ground again. He was aware that they had begun shouting at him, but that was one of those things that he didn't notice. The jeering was nothing more than an inconvenience, and he had a task to do. Still, it was a bit of a hassle that when he finally did manage to get up, the protester who first blocked his way pulled him up by his shirt collar.

"You ain't going anywhere," the man said.

Then, just as calmly as Connor had been reacting, a policeman cut through the group. "Alright, leave it alone," he said, mostly annoyed.

Not breaking eye contact with Connor, the man gritted his teeth. "Let us teach this bastard a lesson."

The policeman sighed. "If you damage it, I'll have to fine you," he continued, "and the owner would have the legal right to press charges."

Grunting, the protester stepped back. "They're going to take your job next. We'll see how you like it," he mumbled, brushing off the officer. He turned back, throwing one last jab over his shoulder at the cop. "What about the plastic bitch on the news? Cyberlife's Android Detective, huh? Plastic bitch is gonna take your job. You're loosing your job to a fucking barbie doll!"

"Alright, let's move along," he continued, ignoring the protester. Connor picked up the box and went to wait for the bus. He would stand in the back, as usual. The machines were stored in the back.


	3. A New Home

Markus closed the door behind himself. His owner, Leo, as he had registered, leaned his forehead against the wall, frustrated and exhausted. "You've been gone for two weeks, so the place is a mess. You do the housework, the washing, you cook the meals, and you take care of..." He trailed off, glancing around, growing more annoyed as he did. "Goddamnit. Where is- Simon! Simon! You-" He turned around, stopping mid sentence. 

Following his gaze, Markus saw a young boy sitting on the staircase. He didn't look anything like Leo, with his bright blue eyes and fluffy blonde hair. He glanced up at Markus, smiled, then buried his head in his lap, tightly cuddling a stuffed mouse next to his neck. "Oh, there you are," Leo said, calming immediately, "That's Simon. You look after him. Homework, bath, all that crap."

"Yes Leo," he responded, not missing a beat.

Leo paused, brushing Markus off with a hand and turning away. "Get started down here. Then you do upstairs." Ignoring Markus' nod of understanding, he slumped over to the couch and fell lazily onto it, sighing. He rubbed his temples, a clear sign of a headache. Markus made a mental note - _If symptoms persist for longer than 10-15 minutes, ask if medical assistance is required. _But for now, he had direct orders. Watching Simon scurry away up to his bedroom, Markus first got to work on the garbage, one of the biggest messes in the house. 

Two garbage bags were already full. Markus decided to start the dishes before taking them out, in case any food still had to be scraped off into the trash. The work was slow, but repetitive, and he fell into a sort of muscle-memory state in washing them, while he ordered a part for the broken washing machine in the back of his mind. Once they were done, Markus turned to pick up the trash, only to see Simon had silently come downstairs. He was hidden behind the wall, peeking around the corner at Markus, who smiled gently. Simon smiled back, but it quickly fell and he scurried off again.

Turning back to the sink, his eyes fell on the clothing line out back. The clothes hadn't been taken down in the weeks he was being repaired, so they had gotten dirty out in the rain and elements. He opened the back door and stepped out into the backyard.

It was so gloomy. Not that Markus really understood what that meant, he reminded himself, he wasn't supposed to feel gloomy. But the sky was so grey, even blocking out the sunrise, which should have filled anyone, maybe even him with a sort of... hope, maybe. He didn't know. The un-mowed, weedy grass was still a little dewy, soaking the cuffs of Markus' pants. Just over the fence, a construction site was hard at work, the orange glow of the late sunrise making it almost intimidating, but the grey sky just made it more gloomy. Something about this run-down part of Detroit was especially sad, mostly for the humans trapped there. The houses were covered in peeling paint, with old, never-repaired phone lines unevenly placed beside the road. The road wasn't like any of the major roads in Detroit, all dark and clean. The roads in this area were pale with age and wear, and they were covered in mostly unfixed cracks in the cement.

But still, the humans trapped there had it worse. Life had been unkind to these unlucky people, and trapped them in dead-end jobs, or took them away all together when technology became more useful. And they couldn't just get a better job - they were all fighting just to pay the bills. Very few of them had androids, but from what Markus knew, he was a cheaper, older model. And for the worst taunt towards the humans trapped in this area of town, you could see the glowing lights of downtown Detroit in the near distance, the skyscrapers towering over them almost mockingly. It was a taunt, really. While the rest of the world was moving forward with self-driving cars or top-of-the-line androids, this area was trapped in the past; financially unable keep up with the utopia the world was building.

Markus picked up the red laundry basket, carelessly tossed aside, still wet from the morning dew. He gave it a quick wipe, then started taking the clothes down off the line. He heard the door close behind him. Simon had come out, and placed himself on a fallen tire swing. Markus didn't know how long ago it had fallen, but Leo certainly hadn't put it back up. _Next non-urgent task: Fix the tire swing. _He added to his mental list of tasks.

  
All the clothing now in the basket, Markus turned to Simon and crouched down with a diplomatic smile. "It's not very nice out. You might catch cold, I could get you a sweater if you want," he said. Simon showed no signs of responding. "Do you like playing out here?" He asked. Simon glanced up at that, his mouth hidden, but his eyes smiling. Simon stood up again and ran back inside. Markus, though he didn't notice it himself, smiled at the boy.

He picked up the basket again and went into the laundry room, where he placed all the clothing in the wash. He reached up to the detergent, placing it beside him. But then he did a double take, noticing a silver package nestled inside the powder. He picked it up, giving it a quick scan. It was red ice. He heard a noise behind him. Leo was in the kitchen, grabbing a beer. Markus replaced it quickly, putting the detergent in the wash, then back on the shelf. He left it running, making sure to return later.

Markus stepped out into the living room again, approaching Leo. "I've made a good start down here," he began, "I'll head upstairs."

"Just- fine, whatever. Just stop bothering me." Leo dismissed him again with a wave of his arm. Markus turned around to see Simon climbing up the stairs, his stuffed mouse held tightly. Markus climbed up after him, seeing Leo's messy room first. It was a quick clean job, only tidying up a couple carelessly dropped CDs and such, making the bed, opening a window for some fresh air, and then the papers on the desk.

Markus dropped one of them while making them neat. He crouched down and picked it up, reading the cover.

_Y-r Dream -hild: YK-_

_DELETE INFORMATION. _

Markus stopped himself from reading any further and neatly filed the papers away, getting back to work. Eventually, the only room left was Simon's. He noticed that the handle of the door was a baseball. Markus entered, leaving the door open behind him. Simon, who had been reading on the floor, ran into a little tent in the corner, strung up with Christmas lights. Markus smiled gently. "I just want to tidy up your room a little. I only need two minutes. Is that okay, Simon?" Simon didn't answer, but also didn't say no, so he got to work making the bed. Simon watched him work, relaxing as he did. 

The book Simon had been reading was left open on the ground. Markus looked at the cover. "Lord Of The Flies," he read aloud. A few pages had been folded tightly inside the book - hidden, but not ripped out. The pages that discussed the death of the character, Simon. Markus closed the book and picked it up, approaching Simon.

"I'm sure we used to be friends before I was reset," he said, giving the book to Simon, who took it slowly, "maybe we can be friends again." Simon didn't say anything. He looked too afraid to try. "Your father said you chose my name. Markus, it's nice. How did you choose it?" 

Simon didn't answer. He stood up and ran. But he stopped before the door, looking at Markus, conflicted. Finally, he ran back and placed a key in his hand, before running off again. Markus looked up on the dresser, seeing a box he hadn't thought to notice before. They key looked to be the one that unlocked it. Markus stood up and opened the box, which played a quiet, pretty melody. Inside were some small treasures; a four-leaf clover, a photo of Simon's mother, a rock with an "s" painted on it... and a few drawings. Markus looked at each drawing carefully.

His LED flashed red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that in the original "Lord Of The Flies" Simon had black hair, but just... look him up. Literally every adaptation gives the kid bright blue eyes and blonde hair.


	4. The Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, I love Hank as much as the next guy, but he's got to be a bit older for this story to work the way I want it to. Also, he's gonna be criminally underused in this story, and for that I apologize.

The door opened for Connor before he even got all the way up. Cole stood in the doorway, beaming. He had a wide, toothy smile with a childish gap between his front teeth that hadn't ever grown out, even now, with Cole now 26. His bright green eyes almost started glowing when he saw Connor at the door, before he jumped onto him in a tight hug."Welcome home, Connor!" He looked up, still hugging Connor and beamed. 

"Hello, Cole," Connor started politely, picking up the dropped records he had picked up for Hank, "I was unaware that you were going to stay the weekend again. Had I known previously, I would have prepared for your arrival."

Cole blew air through his lips, making a horse-like noise. "I didn't expect to be coming, either. Don't beat yourself up. Here, let me take those." Connor didn't even get a chance to react before Cole pulled the bag from his hands and marched back into the house, Connor trailing behind him. Cole was chatting away the whole time. "I'm actually staying the full week this time - thanksgiving coming up and all, I wanted to see my dad," he crouched down and set the records on the lower shelf, then turned around, smiling at Connor, "and you too!" He added. Cole stood back up and hugged him again, way more tightly. When he finally pulled back, he was still smiling. "It's great to see you, Connor!"

This time, Connor couldn't help but smile. If ever a virus could infect him, it was Cole's bright, youthful, innocent smile. "It's great to see you too, Cole," he said.

Cole pulled back and patted Connor's chest excitedly. "Dad's in the office. He's looking at the photos I got last week with Heather. Oh! That reminds me, I've got super great news! I wanna tell you both, so I wanted to wait until breakfast, so-"

"What's this about 'super great news?'" Connor and Cole both turned to the hallway. Hank was standing there, smiling at them both, and leaning on the wall. He was an older man, in his mid-60's, having retired 2 years ago, and hating it. He had once been the youngest captain Detroit police had ever seen, but an accident involving a bomb threat **inside the station **had since ended that career. He was praised for saving everyone inside the building, but that didn't change the issue of the bomb taking his leg when it went off. Now he used a cane to help get around, and he'd gotten used to it faster than anyone had expected. Had that not happened, he'd still have been hard at work, but these days he was left with nothing to do. But because the actual creator of androids and current Cyberlife head, Amanda Stern, had also been saved that day, she decided to make a big show to the press and gifted Hank with a new prototype model; Connor. At first, Hank didn't really notice him much, but he, along with Cole, who came to immediately adore Connor, had began to treat him like family.

Cole clapped his hands excitedly. "Sit down! Sit down! I have amazing news, dad!" Cole rushed into the kitchen and held out a chair for his dad, then ran over to Hank, impatient, and started to pull him towards the table, Hank struggling to keep his balance. He laughed, partly confused and party disoriented. "Slow down, Cole! I can't keep up with you these days - or any day, for that matter," he added under his breath, finally sitting down. He looked over at Connor with a smile. "And good morning, Connor."

"Good morning, Hank," Connor said with a polite smile.

"Now, before Cole gives me his super great news, Connor, could you please make us something edible-"

Cole interrupted his dad. "I'm getting better! Last time it was okay!" Connor half-listened to their conversation as he put the bread into the toaster and set it to cook.

Hank tilted his head down, smiling at his kid teasingly, like he knew he was going to win this argument. "Last time you made cereal, kid. And Connor's a better cook than you any day."

Cole dramatically sighed and faceplanted onto the table, groaning. Connor had started the coffee, and it was done in only a few minutes. Hank didn't care much about keeping up with the latest technologies; that's why he'd never had an android before Connor. It rubbed on on Cole, too, who used older camera models at photoshoots under the request of his clients who wanted vintage looks. But coffee was something Hank saw fit to get the latest and greatest in technology. It was a very new model, and it did it's work fast.

While Hank and Cole chatted, mostly about Cole's big news, Connor started cooking up an egg for Hank's toast. As soon as it was done, he noticed Cole impatiently drumming his fingers against the table. Hank was reading something now, something Cole had given him while Connor's back was turned. It was an official-looking document that Hank was clearly re-reading in disbelief. He looked back up in shock. "Cole, is this serious?" He asked, shocked, but thrilled. Cole nodded frantically, too excited to contain himself.

Cole jumped up and slammed his hands on the table. Despite Cole's loud outburst, Connor continued breakfast, putting the egg onto Hank's toast and adding honey to Cole's. "I got the job! I got it! I got it, dad!" Hank slammed the paper down and stood up too fast. Connor reached out an arm and stabled him, a second-nature act these days. Cole rushed over to his dad and hugged him tight. "I'm going to be a teacher! A professor! I'm gonna teach kids! I'm- I can't believe it!"

Hank was grinning, too. Connor smiled as well as he put the plates down on the table. He poured Hank's coffee, black, as well as Cole's, 3 milk, 2 sugar. "Breakfast is ready," he said, smiling politely.

Hank looked over his shoulder, then spun on his leg, balancing on Cole and the chair. He held Cole in one arm and made him face Connor. He shook him proudly. "Connor, do you know who this is?" He raised a finger. "Don't actually answer that, because I'll tell you. This kid, right here, is the Professor of Photography for the University of California!" 

"I got the job! I got it, Connor!" Cole ran up to hug Connor again, leaving Hank off-balance again. Both Connor and Cole reached out and grabbed him before he could fall, and Connor helped him sit back down without tipping over. Cole sat down too, almost vibrating with excitement, bouncing up and down in his chair. "I got it, Connor!" He mouthed, still grinning. 

Connor smiled. "I'm happy for you, Cole." Connor hadn't really registered what he'd said out loud. He considered it a form of "congratulations," but Hank glanced up, face still turned down towards his toast. He smiled very subtly, something neither Cole nor Connor noticed.

With Cole living with his girlfriend, Heather, Hank and Connor were usually alone. The first few weeks of the two being alone were awkward, with Hank fully aware that Connor was only a machine, and being totally clueless on how to operate around him. He didn't know how to turn his own phone on, so it was incredibly hard for him to learn how an android worked. Plus, it was hard to see Connor as a machine, no matter how inhuman he acted. He still looked human, after all; it was hard to pretend he wasn't. But Connor began to adapt to Hank's quirks, and over time, began to grow more. Connor thought it was a natural upgrade/learning process. Hank knew it was something more interesting.

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" Cole jumped up, excited. Another thing about Cole's visits - Connor almost never got to do anything. Cole was always so eager to help. Cole bounced up to the door and opened it. "Hi! Can-"

Cole froze in his tracks. For the first time Connor had seen today, his smile fell. "Heather, hey." 

A girl stood in the doorway, a couple years older than Cole. She did not look pleasant. And she looked angry. "Hey, can I come in?" She asked, her voice dripping with a honey-like sweetness. "I know you're with your dad this week, but I just wanted to drop by. I missed you." She was smiling so innocently, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. But it was easy to see. Those familiar red marks on her fingertips. Connor and Hank saw them at the same time, and shared a glance. They could tell Cole noticed it, too. 

  
Cole looked up, almost sadly. "Heather... please don't say you're back on it. Please."

"Cole, no. I promise," she said. She placed her hands on Cole's shoulders and smiled at him. "I promise, okay? Don't you trust me?"

Cole shook his head, backing away. "Heather, stop. Dad knows, I told him this morning."

Connor glanced at Hank, who nodded. Heather glared at him angrily, then turned back to Cole. "Fine. Whatever. This isn't over. I'm coming back." Heather reached inside and slammed the door before Cole could close it. Cole placed his hand on the door sadly, then rested his head against it.

"Dad?" He asked, head against the door, "I did the right thing, right?"

Hank started to stand up with a groan, and grabbed his cane, making his way over to Cole. The boy looked like he was about to cry. "Come here, come here kid," he said. Cole leaned limply, sadly into his dad's arms, still not crying. Cole almost never cried. He just sighed and looked sad. Hank hugged him tightly and gave him a few comforting pats on the back. "I know it's rough, kid. But you did the right thing."

Connor's shoulders sagged watching them. Something in him, something similar to compassion, _maybe empathy? No. _It made him feel sympathy for Cole. It made him want to make him smile again. It made him want, he thought. But he couldn't want. He couldn't feel, and to want something, you have to feel, right? So he couldn't want anything, no matter how much he loved- no. No matter how **dedicated **he was to Cole and Hank. He couldn't want. 

He wanted to want, though.


End file.
